Aptitude Tests and their role in Career Guidance

People ring us at Whitney Career Guidance very often and ask the question “do we do Aptitude Tests”? In most cases I’m pretty sure they don’t know what they are actually asking for. There seems to be an old body of opinion in society that completing an aptitude test is the only way to help identify our true career passion.

Sadly, nothing could be further from the truth. Traditional Aptitude Tests measure a candidate’s ability on a range of intelligence factors such as numeric or verbal ability.

During my early years of assessing young people I used Aptitude Tests quite a lot. However I soon learned that these same students had very little interest in the test results. They much preferred me to explain what’s involved in particular career areas, and whether they might end up behind a desk or have to stick needles into patient’s bodies.

As for adults the mere sight of a psychometric test booklet was often enough to induce a mild panic attack! They seemed to have an innate fear that they might be subject to an IQ test which was designed to show them as below average intelligence or worse.

So I was left with a dilemma as to what to do. Too much testing and I was in danger of boring my clients with information they already knew. Too little, and I wasn’t as sure as I would like to be when it came to making decisions regarding a future career path.

When assessing a client’s suitability for a particular career, it’s important to take all aspects pertaining to that individual into account. In addition to looking at their attitudes and aptitudes, it’s obviously very important to look at their interests and motivations. Because traditional aptitude tests fell way short of what I felt was required, I decided to design my own.

Over a period of ten years I began to develop my own methods for assessing: a series of questionnaires and scenarios, which I designed to tease out each client’s preferences for selected career areas. When I had assimilated six specialist areas, I combined these into one comprehensive online assessment tool: Soon to Be Me™.

I tested these methods over a further two to three years until I was happy that they give me a true and accurate reflection of each person’s career preferences. I will not attempt to assess any client now without Soon to Be Me™. I insist on all clients completing this assessment prior to each consultation with me or indeed any of the Whitney Career guidance Team.

There was an advertisement on TV for shavers at one time. The CEO said he liked the product so much he bought the company. I needed my own service so much, to plug this gap, I came up with it.

It’s never too late to pick up the learning. While I am referring to the young people I assess, the model works with all ages. Soon to Be Me™ is now available online to all who wish to use it for themselves. Probably the best way to understand it is to experience it. Send an email to info@whitneycareerguidance.com to receive a discounted code for your Soon to Be Me ™ assessment. See what it tells you about your preferences.